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Topic Review (Newest First)

04-14-2014 09:08 PM

abeauregard

thank you so much for the information you provided...i will use it !
thanks again

Quote:

Originally Posted by selzer

I would not take the puppy to classes until it has had its second set of puppy shots, and then wait a few more days for the antibodies to build up. Waiting for the puppy to be 10 or 12 weeks old is perfectly fine before starting classes.

Yes, your puppy is a baby. She has just been removed from her dam and littermates, where she ran and played with them and interacted with them all day long. And except for the breeder, who several times a day, came along with food and water and toys and good stuff, they were her whole life.

Suddenly she has had her whole life severed from her and she is finding herself all alone in a dark basement, stuck in a crate, away from everything. She is not used to being alone at all. She is used to sleeping with her head up against another puppies bum, and alongside her dam.

Furthermore, when she cried, her mother came to her immediately and made sure she was not in trouble or hurting or hungry. Baby puppies cannot see or hear for the first week or so, but they do cry and squeak from birth. And dams are amazingly attentive to those sounds, and ALL the bitches want to go and make sure those squeaky puppies are taken care of. They squeak when they have to potty, for the dam must stimulate this to make it happen. And they squeak when they are hungry. They will squeak if they are in trouble, or if they are dropped roughly off of a teet.

As the weeks go by, the squeaks change, but Mom is still there and she still protects, and comforts the babies.

At eight weeks, babies go off to their new families, and it is a sink or swim experience. There is so much to get used to. And being away from their dam and littermates is one thing. To make this easier, crating the puppy in your bedroom, where she can hear you snore and breathe, will make a world of difference. She still may cry for her losses are real, and this is all very new. But she will settle much faster.

As for pottying, you need to follow a strict schedule and get her outside after she wakes up, after she eats, after she plays hard. You must not make negative music when she potties because that will scare her into not pottying when you are around and it will make potty training much more difficult. You must be patient, and wait, and wait, and wait until she does potty outside, and then you have to make your happy noises so she knows she did good and you are pleased. Use the words "potty" and "good" a lot. I use "pee pee" and "poopie" too. "Go poopie too." I use Good pee pee, after the pee comes, and do not use the word good until the pottying happens. But I stay happy the whole time.

Right now, do not use a lot of negative markers. Instead when she starts putting her teeth on something inappropriate, grab something appropriate and re-direct, use the word, "yours." After a while you might say "eh eh, mine." And then give her the thing that is hers, and say "yours" or "your tug", "your chewie", etc. At some point you should be able to tell her, "Go get your chewie."

Teach her to take treats from your hand gently. Use the word GENTLE, before she takes it and Good Gentle when she takes it nicely. Start with the treat in your open palm.

Take time with it. Use the words a lot. Use "Gentle" a lot. Make it tougher and put your thumb on the treat in your palm and give it to her if she licks and takes it gently. But not if she snatches. Say "Good Gentle."

After some time, make it tougher and close your fist. Tell her gentle and open if she licks but does not gnaw on your fist. Good Gentle.

Make it tougher, and offer the treat between your index finger and your thumb. Remind with the word, Gentle, and tell her good gentle for being careful.

Take your time. Take days, even weeks with this. Yes, you can train it quicker, but you want it to be solidly learned, and not a quick trick. Because you will want to use that word Gentle, later on with other things, like Gentle with the baby. Gentle with my fingers. Gentle with Grandma. So you are actually teaching her to associate the word Gentle with how she uses her mouth and teeth. Don't try to do this fast. There is no hurry.

04-14-2014 08:26 PM

selzer

I would not take the puppy to classes until it has had its second set of puppy shots, and then wait a few more days for the antibodies to build up. Waiting for the puppy to be 10 or 12 weeks old is perfectly fine before starting classes.

Yes, your puppy is a baby. She has just been removed from her dam and littermates, where she ran and played with them and interacted with them all day long. And except for the breeder, who several times a day, came along with food and water and toys and good stuff, they were her whole life.

Suddenly she has had her whole life severed from her and she is finding herself all alone in a dark basement, stuck in a crate, away from everything. She is not used to being alone at all. She is used to sleeping with her head up against another puppies bum, and alongside her dam.

Furthermore, when she cried, her mother came to her immediately and made sure she was not in trouble or hurting or hungry. Baby puppies cannot see or hear for the first week or so, but they do cry and squeak from birth. And dams are amazingly attentive to those sounds, and ALL the bitches want to go and make sure those squeaky puppies are taken care of. They squeak when they have to potty, for the dam must stimulate this to make it happen. And they squeak when they are hungry. They will squeak if they are in trouble, or if they are dropped roughly off of a teet.

As the weeks go by, the squeaks change, but Mom is still there and she still protects, and comforts the babies.

At eight weeks, babies go off to their new families, and it is a sink or swim experience. There is so much to get used to. And being away from their dam and littermates is one thing. To make this easier, crating the puppy in your bedroom, where she can hear you snore and breathe, will make a world of difference. She still may cry for her losses are real, and this is all very new. But she will settle much faster.

As for pottying, you need to follow a strict schedule and get her outside after she wakes up, after she eats, after she plays hard. You must not make negative music when she potties because that will scare her into not pottying when you are around and it will make potty training much more difficult. You must be patient, and wait, and wait, and wait until she does potty outside, and then you have to make your happy noises so she knows she did good and you are pleased. Use the words "potty" and "good" a lot. I use "pee pee" and "poopie" too. "Go poopie too." I use Good pee pee, after the pee comes, and do not use the word good until the pottying happens. But I stay happy the whole time.

Right now, do not use a lot of negative markers. Instead when she starts putting her teeth on something inappropriate, grab something appropriate and re-direct, use the word, "yours." After a while you might say "eh eh, mine." And then give her the thing that is hers, and say "yours" or "your tug", "your chewie", etc. At some point you should be able to tell her, "Go get your chewie."

Teach her to take treats from your hand gently. Use the word GENTLE, before she takes it and Good Gentle when she takes it nicely. Start with the treat in your open palm.

Take time with it. Use the words a lot. Use "Gentle" a lot. Make it tougher and put your thumb on the treat in your palm and give it to her if she licks and takes it gently. But not if she snatches. Say "Good Gentle."

After some time, make it tougher and close your fist. Tell her gentle and open if she licks but does not gnaw on your fist. Good Gentle.

Make it tougher, and offer the treat between your index finger and your thumb. Remind with the word, Gentle, and tell her good gentle for being careful.

Take your time. Take days, even weeks with this. Yes, you can train it quicker, but you want it to be solidly learned, and not a quick trick. Because you will want to use that word Gentle, later on with other things, like Gentle with the baby. Gentle with my fingers. Gentle with Grandma. So you are actually teaching her to associate the word Gentle with how she uses her mouth and teeth. Don't try to do this fast. There is no hurry.

04-14-2014 08:20 PM

abeauregard

Thank you for the help...i did hear this from few people !! I will attempt it !!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JakodaCD OA

move the crate...at this age, and later on, these dogs just want to be with their people.

You can expect them to not be thrilled with a crate for a few days, but, moving it into your bedroom at nite, put something good she can gnaw on IN the crate, (something that isn't small that she could choke on),,might quiet her down some.

Also, feed her meals IN the crate, = associating the crate with GOOD things,,

Normal puppy stuff your experiencing.

04-14-2014 08:19 PM

abeauregard

Your absolutely right and have heard about this ...but in the room with crate she will make noises i guess or start whimpering ? and wife will tell me to go in basement with her ! hahah ..joking , but will try it ! thanks !!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JakodaCD OA

move the crate...at this age, and later on, these dogs just want to be with their people.

You can expect them to not be thrilled with a crate for a few days, but, moving it into your bedroom at nite, put something good she can gnaw on IN the crate, (something that isn't small that she could choke on),,might quiet her down some.

Also, feed her meals IN the crate, = associating the crate with GOOD things,,

Normal puppy stuff your experiencing.

04-14-2014 08:17 PM

abeauregard

Thank you for the great help

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry and Lola

Can't help with the crating, mine aren't crate trained

However with the toilet training, it just takes time and consistency on your part. Some puppies take a little longer to learn. You are doing the right thing by taking her outside when she goes inside - it is important she understands why though. Make sure you take her outside after she has eaten, drank, woken up from sleeping and/or every 2 to 3 hours. Once outside, issue the command 'toilet' (or whatever word you want to use), wait until she goes then make a big deal out of it by telling her good girl in a high pitch voice and treat her. Find a treat that she really likes like chicken or hotdog meat etc and only use this treat for when she goes outside. If she goes in side, don't say anything just pick her up and take her outside and issue command for toilet, stay out for 10 to 15 minutes, if she goes again praise and treat, if she doesn't then go back inside. Eventually she will work it out - that by going toilet outside she gets a yummy treat. Once she is going outside for a while, then you can slowly phase out rewarding her (although you can still praise her).

With the other stuff - she is 8 weeks old and is constantly learning and full of excitement, she needs consistent rules and training from you to help her learn, she will eventually settle down and often the females mature to be quite aloof, so enjoy this while you can

PS - with the nipping, their needle teeth can really hurt and do damage to furniture. I have had great success with stopping this by using Vicks Vaporub. Just put Vicks on your hands, wrists, ankles etc as well as things that you don't want her to chew like her lead, coffee table legs (if won't harm the wood). They absolutely hate the smell and when they go in for a nip, the smell will get to them and they won't bite. She will eventually learn that by chewing on this - it smells awful. Just do not put the Vicks on her or make her lick or eat it.

04-14-2014 07:27 PM

K9POPPY

Needing help

Mercy,sounds as if you need help bad! My suggestion is to take a puppy class immediately, or get a video for help- a suggestion is puppies 8 weeks and up, from Leerburg.com. There are many out there but this 1 could help you quickly. And the puppy will never be happy in a crate in the basement, puppies need to bond with their owners, IMHO Bob

04-14-2014 07:16 PM

JakodaCD OA

move the crate...at this age, and later on, these dogs just want to be with their people.

You can expect them to not be thrilled with a crate for a few days, but, moving it into your bedroom at nite, put something good she can gnaw on IN the crate, (something that isn't small that she could choke on),,might quiet her down some.

Also, feed her meals IN the crate, = associating the crate with GOOD things,,

Normal puppy stuff your experiencing.

04-14-2014 07:12 PM

Amurphy26

Maybe she's more ball or toy orientated so will respond better to training with a toy. She's only a baby so loads of time to work out what makes her tick.

However with the toilet training, it just takes time and consistency on your part. Some puppies take a little longer to learn. You are doing the right thing by taking her outside when she goes inside - it is important she understands why though. Make sure you take her outside after she has eaten, drank, woken up from sleeping and/or every 2 to 3 hours. Once outside, issue the command 'toilet' (or whatever word you want to use), wait until she goes then make a big deal out of it by telling her good girl in a high pitch voice and treat her. Find a treat that she really likes like chicken or hotdog meat etc and only use this treat for when she goes outside. If she goes in side, don't say anything just pick her up and take her outside and issue command for toilet, stay out for 10 to 15 minutes, if she goes again praise and treat, if she doesn't then go back inside. Eventually she will work it out - that by going toilet outside she gets a yummy treat. Once she is going outside for a while, then you can slowly phase out rewarding her (although you can still praise her).

With the other stuff - she is 8 weeks old and is constantly learning and full of excitement, she needs consistent rules and training from you to help her learn, she will eventually settle down and often the females mature to be quite aloof, so enjoy this while you can

PS - with the nipping, their needle teeth can really hurt and do damage to furniture. I have had great success with stopping this by using Vicks Vaporub. Just put Vicks on your hands, wrists, ankles etc as well as things that you don't want her to chew like her lead, coffee table legs (if won't harm the wood). They absolutely hate the smell and when they go in for a nip, the smell will get to them and they won't bite. She will eventually learn that by chewing on this - it smells awful. Just do not put the Vicks on her or make her lick or eat it.

04-14-2014 06:34 PM

abeauregard

Female GS 8 weeks...

Hi everyone , glad to have founded this forum.
I got ourselves ( family ) a beautiful GS sable , she is absolutely gorgeous , great temperament and very docile.
1- Its only been 3 days, we decided to put her in a crate at night in basement , but she whimpers, howls and barks for 2 hours and that is every time shes in the crate !
2- in the house she poops/pees all the time , i gotta follow her everywhere and we she starts squatting , i scoop her up run in the backyard with her and doesnt do it !! lol
3- i try to train her slowly with little treats, by COME and SIT command , but she couldn't care less !!
4- when she is in that excited mood , she goes crazy and bites ( to play ) anything in her passage , chairs, shoes, walls, anything...

Apparently shes from a line of champion from Germany, but dam i am not impress up to now ( i am kidding , i know she is only 8 weeks.....)
Do i need to be more strict with her or shes really too young ??